Our Time PressThe Local Paper with the Global View

on Social Security, the CIA and Drugs, Affirmative Action & Health Care.
1. Currently the highest wage subject to Social Security Tax is about $68,400.  Where do you stand on a proposal to aid the Social Security System by removing the cap on earnings to be taxed?
Barry Ford: There is no question that the current Social Security system is at risk and that Congress must focus now on solving the structural problems in Social Security so that all Americans can enjoy the retirement to which they have contributed.  In my view, having a social security system that taxes everyone at the same rate is regressive and unfair.  I think it is time that Congress cut the rate for all income levels and removed the cap on income.  This would give lower income families a tax cut and still preserves the safety of the system.   I will support initiatives to remove the cap on Social Security earnings for taxation, or to raise the cap, to ensure that higher income individuals do their part to fund a social security system that is at risk.  As the next representative of the 10th Congressional District, I will do more than focus on social security taxation, I will focus on income tax policy and fight for new initiatives to give working poor families the kind of tax breaks enjoyed by the wealthy.  I will fight to give working families a refundable tax credit that can be invested in a long term savings account to help working families save for home ownership, businesses or education.
 Ken Diamondstone: The position I have taken from the outset of my campaign is that the highest wage subject to Social Security tax should be the highest wage earned.  I don’t think we should be tinkering around the edges to create a solvent, viable social security system.  Nor do I believe that all individuals should receive Social Security.  Some means test should be required so the rich do not receive this benefit.  This would result in an overall lower rate and begin to address what I believe to be a dangerous and growing gap between the very rich and the ordinary citizen and even more so between the very rich and the poor.

2.  Congresswoman Maxine Waters has called for an independent investigation of the relationship between the CIA and drugs in the black community.   Do you support her call, and if so, what actions would you take as a member of Congress to aid the investigation?
Ken Diamondstone: I would support such an investigation because of a clear connection between the CIA and the Nicaraguan contras.  I would support legislation to fund and seek action within the House Government Oversite Committee as well as seek a Justice Department inquiry of any information gathered.  I would also seek to declassify our government files regarding any participation by the CIA or any other agency into the “disappearance” of so many dissidents within Guatemala during the 1970’s and 1980’s.

Barry Ford: Yes. I will join Congresswoman Maxine Waters in pressuring members of Congress to open up an independent investigation of the CIA’s role in the drug market in the African-American community.  If our government has been a part of creating the scourge of drugs in our cities we should be embarrassed and enraged.   If there is evidence of their involvement in drug trafficking I would move to prosecute those responsible.

3.  What is your position on Affirmative Action and set-aside programs?

Barry Ford: I believe that Federal Affirmative Action legislation continues to open doors and battle the evils of discrimination, so that millions of women and people of color enjoy opportunities for education, fair wages, and a chance to own a piece of the American Dream.   I believe that Affirmative Action legislation needs to be properly enforced in ways that take into account local conditions.  The fight for Affirmative Action in Congress that I will wage is to “mend it not end it,” and I will be an active voice calling for the preservation of laws that protect groups that have historically been shut out and unable to compete.   Quotas are wrong and illegal, but I believe that whenever the federal government or any public sector employer spends money on contracting, we should be very careful and committed to set appropriate goals and timetables so that qualified applicants from every sector of our society are represented in that contract.  Brooklyn alone has hundreds of small businesses owned by women and people of color that should be encouraged to compete for subcontracting opportunities that government construction contracts provide.

 Ken Diamondstone:  My position on Affirmative Action is that I would hope to see the day when this is no longer needed, but that for now and the foreseeable future, these programs should remain. 

4. What ideas do you have to make quality health care available to persons not covered by a private insurer?
Ken Diamondstone:  In the candidates forum at Saint Francis College, I spoke of the 40 million families who have absolutely no health insurance.  At that time I pointed out that fully one-third of those families were eligible for Medicaid and that in NYC between 1995 and 1998, the Medicaid rolls had declined by 26%!  I would enact legislation requiring local governments who are not only reluctant to encourage participation but who like NYC, actively discourage  clients through the imposition of bureaucratic red tape, to adhere to strict enforcement criteria and enroll all eligible families.  I would fund the creation of more not-for-profit HMO’s like Brooklyn’s Elderplan, without the enormous cost burden of huge executive salaries and bonuses.
I would create a national program of school-based health for the young people without any coverage, similar to those supported by Senator Velmanette Montgomery within NY State.  It is the children, with every imaginable disease from asthma to anemia who are not covered and in such need.  I would enact an HMO Bill of Rights and institute the right to sue HMO’s for damages caused by refusing appropriate medical treatment.  And I would implement a new program to provide basic health care to those who, despite all available programs, were still not covered.

Barry Ford: I believe that the market alone cannot solve the problem of medical insurance coverage.  I believe that the government needs to curb the tendency of the market to only insure the young and the healthy.  In Congress, I will work to make the dream of single payer insurance a reality by taking gradual steps.  If the Republicans continue to control the Congress and are firmly opposed to movements toward national health care insurance, I would fight to win the hearts of America by calling for insurance for all of America’s children.   Enlightened leadership brought federal medical insurance for our elderly, now we must help our children start life healthy.  On the local level, I support maintaining access and staffing at municipal hospitals.

New Collective to Show Off Community=s Best with Artists= Strut,  
               Restaurant Taste and Annual House Tour
(Brooklyn, NY) On Saturday, October 15th and Sunday, October 16, a consortium of community organizations will play host to an exciting three-part event which will  include the Second Annual Artists= Strut, the First Annual Bedford-Stuyvesant Restaurant Taste and the 27th Annual House Tour of Bedford-Stuyvesant.
The Artists= Strut will display works of local artists in several shops, restaurants and studios around the area. 
The Restaurant Taste will introduce visitors to the great food at some of the community=s diverse eateries. 
The House Tour will again showcase some of the most outstanding residential treasures in the city. All three activities will kick off between 11:00 a.m. and 12 noon.
According to Tohma Faulkner, chairperson of the Bed-Stuy Alive! Collective, AThis exciting venture is our way of showing off  the best of our neighborhood.  This is economic development in action.  We will be  showcasing  a number of outstanding businesses, as well as introducing  our rich  arts scene. We hope that our own neighbors will come out and join in the fun. We invite visitors to shop, eat and see the works of our talented artists.@ The major objective is to help broaden  the  base of regular customers who come to Bedford-Stuyvesant for goods, services and leisure activities.
While feverishly putting the finishing touches on his new restaurant, Bushbaby, Milton Jemmott   said, AI think the Restaurant Taste is a great idea.  Other neighborhoods have done it, and I am glad to see that small business owners in our own community are willing to take part. In addition to new enterprises like Bushbaby, the Taste is designed to shine the spotlight on long-established restaurants like Ricky=s Eatwell and the Royal Rib House.  The restaurants represent a rich cross-section of cultures that reflect the diversity of the community. Other eateries in the Taste of Bed-Stuy include: Bread-Stuy, Lewis and Ruby, Buccoo=s Reef, Shakoor=s Sweet Tooth,     Linbert=s International Restaurant, New Millennium, Juke Joint Juice Jaffe, Subway, Sugarhill Restaurant, Yolele African Bistro and Madison Cafeteria.  Some restaurants may be open for breakfast, but all will be offering everything from inexpensive take-out treats to full sit-down meals at reasonable prices.  Many will have outside tables and chairs set up especially for the day. 
The Second  Annual Studio Strut,   sponsored by the Bedford-Stuyvesant Artists= Association, brings the art to the people.  Visitors can see works on display in the Macon Branch Library, Ibo Landing, Misu, Brownstone Books, Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation, Bread-Stuy, Carver Federal Savings Bank, Leroy=s Framing and Gift Shop, Freestyle Kids, Retreat, Victorian Antiques and Mind, Body and Soul. Fedrecia Hartley, a BESAA founder, explained that the members of her organization are proud to live and work in Bedford-Stuyvesant. AWe are the next generation in a long line of artists who are responsible for the community=s unique cultural heritage. This is a free event so that everybody can take part.@ The Studio Strut  continues on Sunday, October 16th.
In order to make it easy for people to find the art venues and restaurants,  maps will be available at all participating sites. There will also be Bed-Stuy Information Stations set up in front of the Restoration Complex on Fulton Street, at the corners of Fulton Street and Nostrand Avenue, and  Lewis Avenue and Decatur Street.  House Tour guests will be given maps at the high school. 
The Bed-Stuy Alive! Collective is a group of  local community-based organizations and civic groups that have banded together in order to promote the best of Bed-Stuy.  T Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation, the Brownstoners of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Inc.;  the Bedford-Stuyvesant Artists= Association, Bridge Street Development Corporation and Community Board 3. Major  funding is being provided by Council member Albert Vann and local artist TRUE.
For more information on the Restaurant Strut and Studio Street, call the Community Board at (718) 622-6601.  For information on the House Tour, call 718 574-1979.

Liani S. Greaves
BETTER THAN EVER…
 

The Urban World Film Festival marked its second year last month, with a star-studded lineup of features, shorts and documentary films.  This year, the festival attracted three major studio films – 20th Century Fox’s “How Stella Got Her Groove Back”, Warner Bros.’ “Why Do Fools Fall in Love?” and Miramax’s “Down In the Delta”.  The “Delta”, marked the opening night of the festival and the film directorial debut of acclaimed writer/actress Maya Angelou.
Urbanworld is the country’s largest showcase of work of independent Black and Latin Filmmakers.  Showcasing over 70 films in 5 days, UWFF proved its commitment to redefining and enhancing the role of Black films in contemporary cinema.  “This is our Sundance, this is our Cannes,” says festival founder and executive director Stacey Spikes.  The festival was not just screenings and networking, though there were lots of the two.  The fest’s directors also put together informative panels for attendees that were extremely well attended.
Director Mario Van Peeples was on hand to receive the festival’s best documentary award for “Classified X”  at the Festival’s Sunday afternoon Closing Ceremony.  Produced by Yves Jeanneau and Christine LeGoff, Peeples’ work explores the history of Hollywood’s portrayal of African-Americans.  Van Peebles encouraged the attendees to “keep the dream alive” and continue making movies that depict the true experiences of black people.  Clement Virgo’s “The Planet of Junior Brown” nabbed best picture honors.  Cameron Bailey wrote the screenplay based on Virginia Hamilton’s novel of a teen musical prodigy who builds a community of street children.  Sterling Macer Jr. won the audience award for “Park Day”.  Gabriel A. Tolliver and Jake Ann Jones received the screenplay award for “Spook City.”  Gabriel’s next project is a hip-hop/martial arts feature film he wrote called “Bring The Ruckus” being produced by Constant Pictures. 
If this year’s event is any indication, next year’s film festival will be even larger.  The community of African and Latin American filmmakers and filmgoers owe a debt to the Urban World Film Festival.  It’s “ours”, and now it’s up to us to keep the dream alive, and MAKE THOSE MOVIES!

OTP:  What were you doing this morning Floyd?
Floyd Davis: I was at 125th and 145th Street, on the Eighth Avenue line subway platforms passing out literature.   People are starting to recognize Mary’s name is out there. They have very positive responses.  We let them know she’s an African American woman running for governor.  When I say that and give them literature back it up, people always look interested.  So that’s what I’m doing when I have free time. I think it’s important to get her name out there. 
OTP: What else would you be doing or have other volunteers doing?
FD:  What we’ve organized is the “Neighborhood Friends of Mary France”.  These are people who want to work in the campaign and preferably in their neighborhoods.   They form neighborhood groups and they do leaf-letting and get engagements for her at churches or other sites in the community.   We also have “Chat and Chews” which we use for fund-raising.  We have people over and talk about the campaign and the Unity Party.   That’s really the bigger design of what we’re doing.   Break it down into a community level and get the word spread that way. 
OTP:  You’re out of Harlem?
FD:  The upper west side, but I did most of my work in Harlem because most of the people who we are going to get are from Harlem and parts of the Bronx.  That’s where I got the bulk of my signatures during the petitioning process.   Without those areas I doubt that we would have gotten as much as we did. 
OTP:  What do you see as the importance of this campaign in the African American experience?
FD:  The importance I see in this particular campaign, is the fact it’s come out of the grassroots.  I’ve been involved in other campaigns but I’ve not been involved in one like this, where we just have ordinary folk, out there trying to accomplish something, really on little more than just guts.   No money.  But just determination and grit to get something done.  We know there is a groundswell of sentiment out there but there’s no one who’s tapping into it.  That’s the greatest importance of this campaign.  It gives people a choice.
OTP:  How much money did the campaign spend getting those 20,500 signatures to get on the November ballot?
FD:   We figured that we spent about $3,000.
OTP:  $3,000. That’s good to know, and you got 20,500 signatures?
FD:  Yes.  That’s right.
OTP:   That’s a lot of hard work.  You must really want this thing to work.
FD:   It’s why I get up in the morning and get out.  Its’ going to come down to getting the name out there and letting people know what it’s about.   I felt the same way about the signatures, I was up every day.  Out there.  It doesn’t work any other way.   You’ve got to do it, just hit the streets. 
OTP:  You have to work to make it happen?
FD:  That’s right.  A lot of folks talk about it.
OTP:  Could you speak on that aspect for a moment because I see more folks talking about it than actually working.
FD:   Well you can’t judge people too harshly.  I think that people, even though they know that they want something different, they’re not always sure of how to go about doing it. 
OTP:  I see.  Of course you’re right.
FD:  When we get together and talk, we give them that structure.  Give them something to enable them to go out and do something.  Go out and make something real happen.   That’s why people get so enthusiastic when they realize they’ve found something they can latch onto.   You have to know how to do certain things.  You have to know what to do, who to talk to.  This just isn’t common knowledge.   I think that’s why many people get frustrated because they don’t know how to do it.   For those who want to help all they have to do is call the office to find the coordinator in their borough, or come down to Dynamics of Leadership at 26 Court Street in Brooklyn, any Wednesday at 6:30pm. 
(Note: The office number is 718 624-7941.)

Written by Dr. Melva Jackman
A Dramatic Skit

Cast:
The Announcer
Tawana Brawley
Alton H. Maddox, Jr.
The Rev. Al Sharpton
Chorus
Soloist

Script:
ANNOUNCER:  Newspapers, television, radio, magazines tell us about what is going on in the world.  Unfortunately, there are many issues we should know about and discuss which are not considered important in the general media.  If it’s not murder, child abuse, a drug bust or entertainment often African American stories are hardly mentioned.  Here are some issues we need information about and should form opinions on.
1) The proposals to end affirmative action across the country.  Do you know about that?
2) The attack on the open admissions program at City University of NY.  Some of us are going to want to attend college there in just a few years.  Do you know what’s happening?
3) There are always stories about police brutality but what about political prisoners?  Do you know about Mumia Abu Jamal?  How many people knew about the Jericho ’98 March in Washington, last week?
4) What about the effect of the new immigration laws on people in our community?  People are being forced out of the United States every day.  Do you think it’s right?
To find out about Black issues and news from a Black point of view you have to go to Black media.  Read the Amsterdam News, The NY Beacon, Emerge Magazine, listen to WWRL 1600 AM from 10pm to midnight, WLIB 1190AM, especially the Global Black Experience from 12-2:00PM, and WBAI 99.5 from 6-10AM in the morning; 3:00-5:00PM, and into the evening.  These are a few good sources of information.
We don’t have time to talk about all of these things tonight but we would like to present a short skit about a story from ten years that should be in the news today but it isn’t. Have you heard about it?

CHORUS: (Humming the tune of “Eyes on the Prize”)

TAWANA: My name is Tawana Brawley.  I used to live in a small town in upstate New York called Wappingers Falls not far from Poughkeepsie.  When I was 15 years old I was kidnapped.  I was found three days later, nearly unconscious in a plastic garbage bag.  My hair had been chopped off.  I had KKK written on my body.  I was smeared with human feces.  I had been assaulted.  At the hospital I could hardly talk.  When they asked me what happened, all I could say was “White cop”.  A few days later I identified five men from their pictures.  They were all in law enforcement.
When the investigators saw who I identified, they began accusing me of lying.  They said it was a hoax.  They said I put myself into the bag and smeared myself with feces.  And I was just acting like I was unconscious.  They never arrested the men I accused.  My mama cried.  She cried for me.  It looked like we wouldn’t get any justice.
SHARPTON: My name is Al Sharpton.  Rev. Al Sharpton.  Black people always called me when they have trouble with the police Mrs. Brawley told me her daughter’s story.  I listened.  We, C. Vernon Mason, Alton Maddox and I went to Wappinger’s Falls to check on the evidence.  We found enough evidence to believe that somebody did something to Tawana.  There were hospital records and witnesses.  We became the family advisers on this case.
MADDOX: My name is Alton Maddox.  C. Vernon Mason and I are attorneys. They call me the People’s Lawyer just like Reverend Al is the People’s Preacher.  I make a point to represent people of African heritage who believe they will have trouble getting justice in the courtroom.  I know the law backwards and forwards and I’m not afraid to use it.  I know the law as well as any judge.  Well, what we found in Wappingers Fall, I can only call a cover up.  Instead of investigating the accused police officers, they were investigating Tawana’s family to see what problems they could find. Every statement the family made was turned against them. Hospital evidence disappeared.  One of the accused officers was found dead.  They called it suicide.  Witnesses refused to come forward.  It was a cover up.
We asked the District Attorney’s office for indictments of the accused men.  Nothing happened so we took the story to the media.

TAWANA: I kept reading in the newspaper “Tawana’s lying, Tawana’s lying.” Can you imagine how I felt?  Thank God I had my family and the Reverend Al,  Alton Maddox and C. Vernon Mason on my side.  They were the only ones who would speak out for me.  Not only had I been assaulted and abused, but people accused me of being guilty.  Finally my family had to move out of New York State.  I never did get any justice.  I’m finished college now.  I came back to NY (eds. note – Dec, 1987, at Bethany Baptist Church in Brooklyn) to support the men who had supported me.  We are all being sued for almost 400 million dollars by one of the men I accused because we accused him in public of committing a crime against me.  Can you believe that?  They call it defamation of character – spoiling his good name.

MADDOX: The case is going on in the Poughkeepsie courthouse right now.  Come up and see us in action.  Over the past ten years everything has been done to try to stop us.  Rev. Al was indicted for income taxes.  My license to practice law has been suspended indefinitely.  C. Vernon Mason lost his license to practice law.  None of us can earn a living in our chosen profession or protect members of the African American community who may need legal help.
But we haven’t been stopped!  It can only be called defamation of character if the accusations are not believed to be true.  Finally the evidence is being uncovered and brought to light.  Maybe Tawana will get a little bit of justice after all. This case is giving us an opportunity to question all the witnesses in a court of law and challenge all the misinformation. They are already sorry they brought us into court and the case isn’t over yet.

TAWANA: These men sacrificed for me. To defend my womanhood.  My story has gone from a legal cover-up to a news blackout. I checked all the newspapers last week. Didn’t see much about the case – didn’t hear anything on TV either.  Whenever Black people are winning … things get real quiet.

   Continued on Next Page
She disappeared one lonely night.
Three days later, what a sight!

She was gone three days we know
Then left laying by the door

Chorus
Keep your eyes on the prize.  Hold on.
Hold on! Hold on!
Keep your eyes on the prize.  Hold on!

On the day she accused a cop
that’s the day the justice stopped

The newspapers asked her why,
“Did you go and tell that lie?”
Chorus
Keep your eyes on the prize.  Hold on.
Hold on! Hold on!
Keep your eyes on the prize.  Hold on!

Mason, Maddox, Sharpton, too
Shouted, “Girl, we believe in you!”

We will speak out in the court
but that plan – it came to naught.

Chorus
Keep your eyes on the prize.  Hold on.
Hold on! Hold on!
Keep your eyes on the prize.  Hold on!

For ten years they struggled on
For the Truth to be reborn!

Now Black men who know the law
Are engaged in legal war.

Chorus
Keep your eyes on the prize.  Hold on.
Hold on! Hold on!
Keep your eyes on the prize. 
Hold on!